Tag: Detroit Tigers

A’s get another come from behind win with 9-7 victory over Tigers

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by Jerry Feitelberg

Who are these guys? They sure don’t hit like this when they are playing in Oakland, but when the A’s on the road, they become fearless as any lead their opponent may own is not safe. The A’s overcame a 5-run deficit in Chicago to win. On Monday, they rallied to beat the Tigers, and they waved their magic wands again Tuesday night as the A’s came back from a six-run deficit to beat the Tigers 9-7.

The A’s starter, Frankie Montas, gave up six runs in just three innings of work. The Tigers scored four in the first and two in the third, and things didn’t look good for the Green and Gold. The A’s offense woke up in the fourth inning as they were able to put three on the board. Jed Lowrie started the rally with a single. Tigers’ starter Blaine Hardy retired Khris Davis for the first out. Matt Olson reached on a fielder’s choice. Lowrie was out at second. Stephen Piscotty reached on first baseman John Hicks’ error to put men on at first and second. Mark Canha hit a ball that went for a ground rule double. Olson scored the A’s first run. Jonathan Lucroy followed with another double to drive in Piscotty and Canha. The A’s trail 6-3 halfway through the fourth inning. Detroit increased the lead to 7-3 when they plated one in their half of the fourth.

The A’s scored three more in the top of the fifth. Hardy walked Marcus Semien to start the frame. Chad Pinder homered to make it a 7-5 game. Jed Lowrie, who has regained his hitting stroke, hit a solo home run to close the deficit to one 7-6.

The A’s relievers did their job and kept the Tigers off the board the rest of the way. The A’s offense tied the game in the seventh. Louis Coleman was now pitching for Detroit. Semien led off with a single. Matt Joyce reached on a fielder’s choice. Semien was out at second. Lowrie and Khris Davis walked to load the bases. Matt Olson grounded out 6-3 to drive in Joyce with the A’s 7th run.

Oakland took the lead for good in the ninth. Matt Joyce led off with a double and scored on Lowrie’s single. With one out, Matt Olson singled to send Lowrie into scoring position. Detroit brought in Warwick Saupold to pitch to Dustin Fowler. Fowler singled to drive in Lowrie with an insurance run, and A’s close Blake Treinen worked his magic once again as he set the Tigers down in order to earn his 19th save of the year and the A’s win 9-7.

Game Notes- With the win, the A’s improve to a season-high 4 games over the .500 mark with a record of 42-38. They also moved into third place in the AL West a game ahead of the Los Angeles Angels. The Angels lost to Boston 9-1 on Tuesday night.

The Tigers lost their seventh game in a row and are now 36-44 for the year.

Chris Hatcher gave up a run in the fourth inning, but Emilio Pagan, Ryan Buchter, and Blake Treinen stopped the Tigers cold the rest of the way. The win went to Buchter(2-0), and the save went to Treinen. The Tigers’ Shane Greene took the loss for the second game in a row.

Jed Lowrie was the hitting start for the A’s with four hits, and he raised his batting average to .288. He now has 13 homers so far an 53 RBIs. The A’s hit two more home run in their 27th consecutive road game which is a Major League record.

The A’s are now 6-2 on the 10-game road trip. Sean Manaea (7-6) will pitch for Oakland Wednesday night, and Mike Fiers (5-4) will be on the hill for Detroit. The game will start at 4:05 pm on Wednesday at Comerica Park in Detroit.

A’s rally to nip the Tigers 5-4

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s began a four-game series Monday in the Motor City against the Detroit Tigers. The A’s purchased the contract of the veteran hurler, Edwin Jackson, from Nashville earlier in the day. Jackson tied a major league record by playing for his 13th Major League team. The only other player was Octavio Dotel. Dotel also made a stop n Oakland in his Major League journey. Jackson was making his first start of the 2018 season and did very well for his new team. Jackson went 6 innings and, allowed six hits, one run, no walks, and seven strikeouts. “It’s always good to be wanted,” Jackson said. “When I can’t find a team that wants to bring me in, then I guess it’ll be time to sit down. But until then, I like to come out. I like to compete, to have fun. I feel like I still have something in me and that I can bring value to a team.”

The Tiger’s starter Jordan Zimmerman also pitched very well. Zimmerman and Jackson engaged in a pitchers’ duel. The only run that Jackson allowed came in the bottom of the fourth. The Tigers put the first run of the game on the board this way. Designated Hitter Victor Martinez led off the bottom of the fourth with a single. First baseman John Hicks reached on a fielder’s choice when Jackson was not able to cleanly field Hicks’ bunt. Jackson was charged with an error, and the Tigers had men on at first and second with no out. Jackson then had to face the Tigers’ most dangerous hitter, Nick Castellanos. Castellanos doubled to drive in Martinez with the Tigers’ first run. The A’s trail 1-0 after four complete.

Zimmerman did not let the A’s score in the fifth. Tigers’ manager Ron Gardenhire removed Zimmerman after the fifth and turned the game over to the bullpen.

Neither team scored in the sixth. The seventh inning was a different story. The A’s tied the game when right fielder Stephen Piscotty sent a Louis Coleman pitch over the fence for his 8th of the year. Nick Castellanos hit a three-run blast off A’s reliever Lou Trivino to send the Tigers ahead 4-1.

The A’s refused to fold. They plated three runs in the top of the eighth. Khris Davis started the rally by getting hit by a pitch. Piscotty doubled to send Davis to third. Marcus Semien hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Davis with the A’s second run. Jonathan Lucroy singled to drive in Piscotty and Lucroy scored when Franklin Barreto doubled to left center to tie the game.

The A’s took the lead for good when Jed Lowrie hit his 12th home run of the year off Shane Greene. Blake Treinen pitched the ninth and allowed just one hit to preserve the win for Oakland and earned his 18th save in the process. The A’s win 5-4.

Game Notes- Edwin Jackson was impressive in his first start as an Athletic, He gave A’s manager Bob Melvin six innings and allowed one run and six hits.”For most guys, it’s tough to go to a new team in the middle of a season. There can be some nerves and some uncomfortableness being with a new team,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “This is probably the last guy that you worry about that, being that it’s his 13th team. He seemed real comfortable when he came out of the bullpen, seemed really comfortable when he took the mound. That has a lot to do with experience.” Yusmeiro Petit, Ryan Buchter, Lou Trivino, and Blake Treinen finished the game for the A’s. Trivino gave up the home run to Castellanos but was the pitcher or record when the A’s took the lead for good. Trivino is now 6-1. Treinen, as mentioned earlier, earned his 18th save.

The A’s are now three games over the .500 mark with a record of 41-38. The Tigers drop to 36-43.

Stephen Piscotty and Jonathan Lucroy were the hitting stars with three hits apiece. The A’s homered in their 26th consecutive road game which is a Major League record.

The A’s announced that they activated lefty Ryan Buchter off the 60-day DL and added Edwin Jackson to the 40-man roster. Nick Martini was returned to Nashville, and reliever Liam Hendriks was designated for assignment.

Game two of the series will be played Tuesday night in Detroit at 4 pm. Righty Frankie Montas (4-1) will go for Oakland, and the Tigers will counter with lefty Blaine Hardy (3-1).

 

Athletics down Tigers 3-2 Wednesday to sweep the 3-game series on the road

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DET Mengden

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Detroit — The Oakland Athletics have been the worst road team in all of baseball several times this season. They have been strong defenders of their home field, but the road has been their nemesis. Since a major league team plays 81 of their 162 games on the road, learning to win in the other guy’s park is mandatory.

The Athletics embarked on this nine-game road trip to Boston, Philadelphia and Detroit needing to prove to themselves that they could win on the road, and that is exactly what they did.

Wednesday in Detroit was a crowing effort for the A’s

The A’s had won the first two games of the series in Detroit. They had compiled a 5-3 record on the road. With Wednesday being a day/get-away game to head back to the Bay Area, it would have been very easy to have a mental let down and just go through the motions to get out of town in order to get home.

The Athletics did not do that. They played tough. They played solid defense behind their starting pitcher Daniel Mengden. The Athletics worked to get runs when they could and they won the game.

They also swept the three-game series at Comerica Park and finished the nine-game road trip with a record of 6-3.

Manager Bob Melvin was a happy man after the win on Wednesday

Pitching dictated the ultimate outcome of the game

Athletics starter Daniel Mengden threw seven shutout innings and extended his scoreless inning streak to 16-innings which is the longest for any A’s pitcher this season. He gave up no runs on seven hits. One of the big keys to his win was the fact that he did not issue a walk. Mengden struck out four Tigers. His record is now 2-1 with an ERA of 3.30.

Ryan Dull came to relieve Mengden in the eighth inning and set the Tigers down in order. It looked like the final inning would be uneventful.

Dull came out for the ninth because Melvin was hoping to rest his overworked bullpen. Dull walked the first batter he faced — Efren Navarro. Mikie Mahtook then hit a 1-1 pitch from Dull for a double that moved Navarro up to third. Pitching coach Scott Emerson came out for a visit before Dull went back to work.

Dull struck out the next batter he faced — pinch-hitter Tyler Collins — for the first out of the inning. Andrew Romine then stepped into the box and hit a single to right that drove Navarro and Mahtook home to make it a 3-2 game.

That was all for Dull as Bob Melvin brought Liam Hendriks in from the pen. There was also an injury delay as catcher Bruce Maxwell had to come out of the game after taking a ball off the mask. He was replaced by Phegley.

Hendricks was able to get Jose Iglesias to ground into a force out that erased Romine and left Iglesias at first on the fielder’s choice. With Alex Presley batting, Iglesias moved up to second on a wild pitch. Presley struck out swinging to end the game.

Hendricks was credited with a save but more importantly he put up a “Goose Egg” meaning he did not allow a run to score.

Detroit pitching

Tigers starter Anibal Sanchez pitched six-innings and allowed just one run (earned) on three hits. He walked three A’s and struck out eight. Sanchez threw an incredible 115 pitches (68 strikes). He was also tagged with the loss, so his record falls to 3-5.

The big problem for Detroit was their bullpen failed in its effort to throw “Goose Eggs”. Daniel Stumpf took over Sanchez in the seventh inning and gave up the two-run home to Marcus Semien that was the ultimate difference maker in the game.

Joe Jimenez and Zac Reininger each worked an inning of relief for Detroit and both posted “Goose Eggs” in the run column.

A’s batters

Marcus Semien was the man for Oakland in the big win on Wednesday. He not only hit the game deciding two-run home run in the seventh inning, but Semien posted all three of the Athletics RBI. In the series, he went 4-for-10 and scored four runs.

Catcher Bruce Maxwell went 2-for-4 in the game with a double and two runs scored. He is now hitting .315 in day game versus .205 under the lights. Guess who is catching the day games? Also, the initial reports are that Maxwell does not appear to have a concussion from the foul tip that caused him to leave the game in the ninth inning.

The Athletics scored three runs on six hits and left seven men on base. Their record improved to 69-83.

Detroit hitting

Nicholas Castellanos hit a single in the sixth inning which extended his hitting streak to a career-high 17 games. He hit .346 against the A’s in 2017.

Efren Navarro hit a single in the second inning that upped his hitting streak to five games. He now batting .400 — 6-for-15 — with a double and triple during the streak.

The Tigers posted two runs off nine hits and left eight runners on base. They also committed two errors. Detroit’s record now stands at 62-90.

Up next

The Athletics left for the Bay Area right after the game and will have Thursday off. The A’s begin a three-game series in Oakland with the Rangers on Friday night. RHP Kendall Graveman (5-4, 4.39) is scheduled to start for the Athletics. Texas has not named their starter.

The Tigers continue their homestand on Thursday as they begin a four-game series with the Twins.

A’s win in a walk off beating the Tigers 6-5

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By Charlie O. Mallonee

Here’s the 2:20 Wrap from the Coliseum on the A’s big win

A’s manager Bob Melvin was very happy to talk about the win after the game

Here are some Adam Rosales moments from the game

 

Preview of the A’s – Tigers Series

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by Jerry Feitelberg

UPI file photo: Oakland A’s manager Bob Melvin (8) and A’s pitching coach Curt Young (41) pulling bubble gum study the A’s dire pitching situation

OAKLAND–The Oakland A’s welcome the Detroit Tigers to the Oakland Coliseum Friday night to start a three-game series. The A’s met the Tigers in Detroit in late April and lost three of the four games played there. Rich Hill beat the Tigers 5-1, but the Tigers pinned losses on Kendall Graveman, Sonny Gray, and Chris Bassitt. Bassitt had Tommy John surgery and is out for the season. Gray is also on the DL with a strained trapezius muscle.

The Tigers arrive in Oakland with a record of 23-23. They have had issues with their starting rotation, bullpen, and offense. Tigers’ manager Brad Ausmus is on the hot seat as the team has not lived up to expectations. However, they have started to play better and have won eight of their last ten games.

The Tigers signed free agent pitcher Jordan Zimmermann to a big contract in the off-season. Zimmermann has been the ace of the staff and has a record of 7-2 and a sparkling ERA of just 2.52. Zimmermann suffered a mild groin strain in his last outing and may not be available to face the A’s this weekend. Michael Fulmer will go for Detroit Friday night. Fulmer has a record of 3-1 so far this season. The rest of the Tiger rotation is iffy at best. Anibal Sanchez is 3-6 and is not having a good year. He has started ten games, and the Tigers have lost seven of his last eight outings. He has given up at least five runs in all but one of the losses. Sanchez has been rocked for eleven home runs and is tied second worst in the AL. Mike Pelfrey is 0-4 and has been a huge disappointment for Detroit. Veteran righty Justin Verlander, former Cy Young winner, and MVP is just 4-4 and does not seem to be the Verlander of old. The bullpen is staffed by Mark Lowe, Kyle Ryan, Alex Wilson, Justin Wilson, and Francisco Rodriguez. Rodriguez has fourteen saves so far. The ERAs for Alex and Justin Wilson are 4.24 and 4.50 respectively while Lowe’s is an astronomical 6.61.

The Tigers have a very potent offense with a lot of big boppers in their lineup. Third baseman Nick Castellanos is having a good year. He is hitting .337 with nine home runs and thirty-one RBIs. Second baseman Ian Kinsler is hitting .306 and has ten homers and twenty-four RBIs. The big first baseman, Miguel Cabrera, comes into Friday’s game hitting .322, and he has eleven home runs and thirty RBIs so far. Other players that can do damage include J.D.Martinez, Justin Upton, and Cameron Maybin. Designated Hitter Victor Martinez is always a threat to do damage.

The A’s starting rotation is not very good right now. Injuries have really hurt the A’s, but they have to hope that the starters will get better. Left Sean Manaea will pitch for Oakland Friday night. Manaea’s record is 1-2, but the jury is out as to whether or not he can pitch at the Major League level. Manaea needs to be more consistent if he is to stay with the A’s. Kendall Graveman is 1-6, and he also has been inconsistent. Graveman needs a couple of good outings to build his confidence. He seems to be okay for the first two or three innings but loses it in the fourth, fifth or sixth, if he makes it that far. Jesse Hahn is also a work in progress and needs to pitch better. Zach Neal, filling in for Sonny Gray, had a bad game in Seattle and may be headed back to Nashville. Sonny Gray is on the DL and, hopefully, will be the Sonny Gray of old when he returns. The A’s need him.

The A’s bullpen has improved this year. Yes, Ryan Madson blew the save and the game Tuesday night in Seattle. Bad things happen during the season. Madson, Axford, Doolittle and Fernando Rodriguez have been stellar for the most part.

Injuries to key players have hurt the A’s attack. Jed Lowrie just came off the DL. Josh Reddick will be out for another four weeks. Danny Valencia was on the DL with a hamstring issue earlier this year. Valencia and Khris Davis got hot for a while but appear to have cooled off. Chris Coghlan has had a lot of playing time due to injuries to other players, cannot seem to get it going. His batting average is about a buck fifty-three. Marcus Semien, Khris Davis, Yonder Alonso all have batting averages below .250. The A’s do not have big boppers similar to those in the Tiger lineup.  The A’s are currently eight games under .500 with a record of 20-28. After the Tiger series, the A’s will play four clubs with losing records and, hopefully, they can get back on track. The A’s play Minnesota, Houston, Milwaukee and Cincinnati. The Twins are having a terrible year and have a record of 12-34. Houston is at 19-28, and just 1/2 game behind the A’s in the AL West. Milwaukee is at 20-26 and Cincinnati is at 15-32. If the A’s can’t improve their record against these teams, it could be a long, long season for the Green and Gold.

 

 

 

 

The Tigers pounce on the A’s again.

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: Detroit Tigers pitcher Francisco Rodriguez 57 congratulated Anthony Gose right after defeating the Oakland A’s 7-3 on Thursday at Comerica Park

The Tigers beat the A’s again Thursday afternoon in Detroit by a score of 7-3. The A’s were hoping to get a win so that they would return home with a record of 6-4 on the ten-game road trip. They ended up 5-5 which is not bad considering the teams the had to play. They started off well beating the Yankees four straight. They took the first game from Toronto but lost the last two games as the Toronto’s hitters came to life. Then the four-game series with Detroit. The A’s split the first two games, but the starting pitchers could not hold down the big boys in the Detroit Lineup. J.D.Martinez, Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez, Justin Upton and Anthony Gose punished Sonny Gray, Chris Bassitt, and Kendall Graveman. Bassitt went three and 2/3rds inning giving up ten hits, seven earned runs, one home run. His ERA zoomed up to 6.11.

Josh Reddick drove in the first run of the game in the top of the third. The Tigers scored four times in the bottom of the third. Anthony Gose doubled to start the rally. Ian Kinsler doubled to drive in Gose. J.D.Martinez, batting second in front of Miguel Cabrera, walked. Cabrera singled to drive in Kinsler. Martinez scored when Cabrera tagged up and tried to reach second on the play. The throw to second was cut off. Martinez took off for home and beat the throw to the catcher.  Justin Upton flew out, and Cabrera took third after tagging up. Nick Castellanos doubled to drive in Cabrera with the fourth run of the inning.

Stephen Vogt homered leading off the fourth to cut the deficit to two. However, the Tigers scored three more runs in the bottom of the fourth to put the game out of reach. The big blow was a two-run homer off the bat of Anthony Gose. The A’s scored a run in the ninth, but it was not enough as they lose 7-3.

Game Notes- The A’s fall to one game under .500 with a record of 11-12.  Chris Bassitt took the loss. Anibal Sanchez recorded his third win of the year for Detroit. Sanchez went five and two-thirds innings. He gave up two runs on three hits, walked seven and struck out nine. The A’s won the first four games of the road trip but lost five of the last six. A’s manager Bob Melvin may be making some additional changes to the starting rotation. The first change will occur Friday night when the big lefty, Sean Manaea, makes his Major League debut against the Houston Astros. Jesse Hahn’s recall was delayed due to a blister on his pitching hand, and Henderson Alvarez should be ready to return to the Big Leagues in mid-May.

 

The Tigers use the long ball to beat the A’s.

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: Detroit Tigers designated hitter Vic Martinez goes yard for a three run shot in the Detroit half of the sixth against the Oakland A’s on Wednesday night at CoAmerica

The A’s sent their ace, Sonny Gray, to the hill Wednesday night in Detroit hoping to send the Tigers down to defeat. The Tigers’ Justin Verlander, who beat Gray in Game Five of the ALDS in 2013, was very effective as he and the Tigers drubbed the A’s 9-4.

Gray left the game after just two innings of work.He gave up four runs in the bottom of the second. The big hit was J.D.Martinez’s three-run homer to put the Tigers in the lead 4-0. For Gray, it was the quickest exit of his career and left A’s manager Bob Melvin having to go to the bullpen early. The A’s Khris Davis made it a 4-1 game in the top of the fourth when he hit a monster home run to deep center field that almost hit the statue of Tiger legend Al Kaline. The Tigers scored in the bottom of the fourth when the A’s made two errors that allowed an unearned run. Tigers in the lead 5-1 after four.

The Tigers put the game away in the bottom of the sixth when the other Martinez(Victor) hit a three-run dinger off Liam Hendricks to make it 8-1. The A’s scored two in the eighth and one in the ninth. It was not enough as Detroit won 9-4.

Game Notes- Sonny Gray’s record dropped to 3-2 while Verlander’s improved to 2-2.  The pitching line for Gray was two innings pitched, two hits, four runs, four walks, one home run and sixty-four pitches. The A’s are now 11-11 for the year and are 5-4 on the ten-game road trip. The Series finale will be at 10 am PT Thursday morning. Chris Bassitt will go for Oakland, and he will be opposed by Anibal Sanchez. The A’s return to Oakland to face the Houston Astros Friday night. Lefty Sean Manaea was recalled from Nashville and may make his MLB debut in that game.

 

 

 

Rich Hill tames the Tigers, A’s snap 3-game losing streak

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by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: Rich Hill Oakland starter on Tuesday night

The Oakland A’s, behind a terrific performance by lefty Rich Hill, defeated the Detroit Tigers 5-1 Tuesday night in Detroit. Hill, without doubt, had his best game of the young season. He went seven innings allowed just four hits, no runs and struck out eight. The veteran lefty gave up two singles in the first inning and then retired eighteen of the last twenty hitters he faced. His record is now 3-2 for 2016.

The A’s scored three times in the top of the fourth. Mike Pelfrey was trying to win his first of the year for the Tigers, but the A’s took advantage of a couple of defensive lapses in the inning to go ahead 3-0. Josh Reddick started the rally with a single. Reddick stole second. The Tiger second baseman couldn’t hang on to the throw from the catcher. Jed Lowrie continued his clutch hitting. Lowrie singled to drive in Reddick. Stephen Vogt doubled to put men on at second and third with no out. Lowrie scored on a sac fly off Coco Crisp’s bat to put the A’s up 2-0. Kris Davis singled to drive in Vogt. A’s lead 3-0.

There was no more scoring until the top of the seventh. With two out and a man on first, Marcus Semien hit his fifth dinger of the season and finished the night for Pelfrey. Rich Hill pitched the seventh and Bob Melvin brought in Sean Doolittle for the eighth. Doolittle did his job, and John Axford closed out the game for the win. Axford gave up his first run of the year, but it was too little, too late for Detroit. The A’s improve to 11-10 and are tied with the Texas Rangers for second place in the AL west just two percentage points behind the Seattle Mariners.

Game Notes- Rich Hill’s ERA dropped to 2.42 after his magnificent outing Tuesday night. Game three of the series will feature an outstanding matchup between the A’s ace Sonny Gray and the former Cy Young winner and MVP, Justin Verlander.

Here is some news regarding Tyler Collins  The report is from the Detroit Free Press regarding Collins’ possible suspension for the improper gesture. The report is as follows:

” The Detroit Free Press is reporting that MLB has concluded review of Tyler Collins incident. He will not be suspended, 

Major League Baseball is reviewing Collins’ improper gesture to fans during Monday night’s win over the Athletics. Collins lost a fly ball in the lights Monday Night and did not react well when he was booed by the fans.

A league spokesperson told the Free Press today the league has opened an investigation regarding the incident, in which the Tigers centerfielder flashed his middle finger to fans.

“If anything needs to be done, we’ll handle it internally,” Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. “And if Major League Baseball has a reaction, then we’ll see what their reaction is.”

“Nobody wants that ball to get lost less than me,” Collins said. “That hurts. And to be at home and to hear boos after that play, it hit a trigger inside of me, and I lashed out, completely inappropriately.

“I’m embarrassed that happened and I’m very sorry to everybody in Detroit. I just want you guys to understand that I love this team, and I want to win so when we come home and get booed, it’s tough to swallow. But like I said, I apologize completely, and I’m embarrassed at myself, and I know my family is embarrassed at me and I’m sure these guys are, too, so I’m sorry that happened.”

MLB previously suspended right-handed reliever Jonathan Papelbon for seven games while with the Phillies in 2014 after making an inappropriate gesture to fans while getting booed after blowing a save.

The Tigers’ Joe Nathan wasn’t disciplined by the league in 2014 after giving a chin flick to fans following a win.

If Collins is suspended while on the 25-man roster, the Tigers would not be able to fill that spot, having to play one man short. If he is optioned to Triple-A Toledo – which could be on the horizon, given Cameron Maybin’s recovery from a shoulder injury – any potential suspension would take place if he returns to the big leagues. He can appeal any suspension.

Time of game was two hours and thirty-six minutes and 22,256 people watch Rich Hill make magic with his curve ball in the win for Oakland.

The Tigers send the A’s down to their third straight loss.

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by Jerry Feitelberg

photo credit abcnews.com: After a fly that was miscued in the outfield lights Detroit outfielder Tyler Collins heard a rain of criticism from the Tiger fans in which Collins reciprocated by flipping off the fans in a game the Tigers were leading the Oakland A’s at the time 6-0 at CoAmerica Park in Detroit on Monday night

It was not a good night for the A’s as the lost 7-3 to the Detroit Tigers in the first game of a four-game series. The loss was the third in a row for the A’s and evened their season mark at 10-10. They are still in first place in the AL West, but they have company sharing the lead with the Texas Rangers also at 10-10 and the Seattle Mariners, who are at 9-9.

Kendall Graveman was hoping to repeat his outstanding performance last time out as he beat the Yankees in New York. Things did not go well for Kendall. He gave up a solo home run to Miguel Cabrera. Miggy came into the game hitting just .206 and was in a 0-for-13 slump. The Tigers scored the second run of the game in the second inning. Graveman did not make it out of the fifth. With one out, he gave up back-to-back singles. Cabrera made him walk the plank as he blasted his second home run of the night. Victor Martinez followed with a solo homer, and the Tigers led 6-0. Bob Melvin lifted him with two out and two on. The Tigers added another run and the A’s reached Zimmerman for three runs. Only one of the runs was earned. The Tigers win 7-3.

Jordan Zimmerman, the price free agent acquisition, improved his record to 4-0. Zimmerman pitched 24 1/3rd scoreless innings to start the season.  This was the best start ever by a Tiger pitcher. The A’s runs were driven in bu Billy Burns, Yonder Alonso and Mark Canha.

Game two of the series will see Rich Hill on the mound for Oakland and he will be opposed by the Tigers’ Mike Pelfrey. Hill will be seeking his third win of the year.

Game time will be 4:10 PM PT in Detroit.

 

 

Jays beat the A’s 6-3 to take the series

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MLB: Oakland Athletics at Toronto Blue Jays
Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Eric Surkamp Photo Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

by Charlie O. Mallonee

There is nothing harder to do in Major League Baseball than to try to establish a winning streak on the road. After winning six games in a row, the A’s lost on Saturday to the Toronto Blue Jays.

On Sunday, the A’s wanted to get back into the win column and take the series from the Jays. The A’s were unable to accomplish either of those goals.

The A’s starting pitching left much to be desired on Sunday allowing Toronto to score six runs in 4.2 innings.

The A’s hitters showed some power hitting three home runs. The only problem with those round-trippers were that all three were solo shots.

The Jays starting pitching was not overwhelming but was just good enough to get the win.

Toronto used a combination of power and productive two-out hitting to score six runs which was more than enough to win the game.

On the hill

LHP Eric Surkamp (0-2, 5.59) started the game for the Athletics. Surkamp came into the game looking for his first win of the season. Instead, he was charged with his second loss of the year.

Surkamp gave up all six Toronto runs in his 4.2 innings of work. He gave up two home runs and two doubles. Surkamp threw 97 pitches (54 strikes), walked three and struck out just two Blue Jays. He face 26 batters in his time on the hill.

The Oakland relief corps did its job. Marc Rzepczynski, Ryan Dull and Fernando Rodriguez held the Jays scoreless in their 3.1 innings of work. The relievers allowed only three base runners in closing out the game for Oakland.

Drew Hutchison (1-0, 3.18) started the game for Toronto and picked up his first victory of the season. Hutchison was not over powering on the mound as he gave up two runs (both earned) on four hits in his 5.2 innings of work. Two of those hits were home runs. Hutchison struck out five and walked three A’s hitters.

Former Oakland Athletic Jesse Chavez relieved Hutchison in the top of the sixth inning inning. Chavez returned to the mound in the seventh and issued a home run to the A’s lead off hitter Chris Coghlan.

Brett Cecil, Drew Storen and Roberto Osuna finished off the game for the Jays holding the A’s without a hit. Osuna picked up his sixth save of the season.

In the batter’s box

The A’s were had only five hits in the game. Josh Reddick had the only multi-hit game going 2-for-4 including a home run. Khris Davis and Chris Coghland hit the other home runs for Oakland. Yonder Alonso recorded a base hit for the A’s.

Oakland was 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position and left just three men on base.

Three Blue Jays had multi-hit games. Ezequiel Carrera went 2-for-4 including hitting his first home run of the season. Kevin Pillar hit a double and scored a run in going 2-for-4. Darwin Barney also had a two-hit game for the Jays.

The Jays went 3-for-15 with runners in scoring position and left nine runners on base.

Up next

The Athletics head to Detroit for a four-game series that begins at 4:10 PM on Monday in Northern California. It could be an opportunity for the A’s to get back on the winning track.

The Tigers have lost four games in a row and have record of just 2-5 at home this season. They were just swept by the Cleveland Indians.

The A’s must achieve at least a 2-2 split in the four-game series. To come home 1-3 or heaven forbid 0-4 in the final series of this road trip would be devastating for the psyche of this team.